Community Clean Up Days
T’is the season for community clean ups. Me and my brood will be at Earl Beatty. Where will you be? (A tidbit from me to you: for my son’s last birthday I bought a few long-handled grabbers at Dollarama that would be ideal for picking up litter if you’d rather not bend up and down endlessly. The young children found them a little difficult to squeeze -though very appealing- but an older child or adult wouldn’t have any trouble.)
You can usually bring your own gloves (though there are usually some available too). Bags are supplied. And – in my experience there are usually some treats for your labour.
Saturday, April 24th
Earl Beatty and surrounding streets- 10 a.m. @ the school (Sponsored by the eco-team, the Earl Beatty Community Centre and the school.)
Danforth Avenue – 10 a.m. @ the Coxwell Parkette at Danforth and Coxwell (Sponosred by the Danforth Mosaic BIA)
Taylor Creek – 11 a.m. @ end of Rexleigh Dr.(sponsored by the Taylor Creek Green Group)
Stan Wadlow Skate Park – 1 p.m. @ skate park (sponsored by Team East York Skateboarders)
Keystone Keeners – The neighbours living on Keystone Ave. are hosting their annual Rally in the Alley to clean up the alley and generally have an excuse for a party. Guess what? You could do that too.
Ecoartvan
Every Saturday in April and May the Ecoartvan will be visiting libraries all over town to offer a free hands-on art and environment education program. The van will be at the S. Walter Steward Library on Saturday, April 24th from 1 – 4 p.m. (170 Memorial Park Ave. – just north of East York Civic Centre).
Topham 10
The Topham Park EcoTeam is trying to get solar panels installed on 10 homes in Ward 31 (north of Danforth). With a LiveGreen Toronto grant of $50,000, they can offer about $4,500/home to help reduce the costs. So far they only have two homes and are looking for eight more. Contact Neil Rankin to learn more at tophampark@ourpower.ca
DECA Bikes!
Who knew there were so many avid cyclists in the neighoburhood? Saturday, March 27th was our first ever DECA Bikes Tune-Up workshop. Cyclists learned the tricks of the trade for tuning up their bikes, met with other cyclists, and were treated to bicycle shaped cookies and juice all for the low fee of paying what you can.
We knew it was going to be a great day when there was a queue at 11 am! THANKS to all our dynamite DECA Bikes members for helping out.
Next Tune Up workshop is Saturday, May 1st 11 am – 4 pm. Contact Jamie Thiers jamiethiers@gmail.com for more information or to join DECA BIKES.
Reskilling – Soap Making
The Reskilling workshops DECA & ETCAG (East Toronto Climate Action Group) have been offering since last July have been going gangbusters!
We had to run four soap making classes to meet the demand of keen, sudsy soap makers. Thanks to the fabulous Amanda Montgomery (Simply by Amanda) and her protégé Jazzy Joanna for all their knowledge. Look for their products at Better Bulk.
Stay tuned for a beeswax candle making class and a bread making class.